The position is located in the United Nations Development Coordination Office (UNDCO) in Istanbul.
In its Resolution A/RES/72/279, the United Nations General Assembly endorsed the transformation of the Development Operations Coordination Office as a stand-alone coordination office within the United Nations Secretariat. The new office (now referred to as UN Development Coordination Office, DCO) assumes managerial and oversight functions of the resident coordinator system under the collective ownership of the members of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG).
The incumbent reports to the Assistant Secretary-General (ASG), UNDCO.
Within delegated authority, the Regional Director will be responsible for the following:
•Directs and manages the UNDCO Regional Desk: a) Formulates and implements the substantive work programme and budgets of the Regional Desk under his/her supervision, determining priorities, allocating and monitoring resources for the delivery of outputs, and reporting on results; b) Oversees the management of activities undertaken by the Regional Desk, ensuring that programmed activities are carried out in a timely fashion and co-ordinates work in the different areas both within the Regional Desk, and with other organizations of the United Nations System, regional bodies and partners.
•Provides strategic guidance to Resident Coordinators (RC) and UN Country Teams (UNCT) to ensure quality and timely support to Member States in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
•Provides leadership and strategic thinking to identify existing and emerging development challenges and priorities in the region.
•Manages day-to-day operations of the RC system in the region, including management of RC/UNCT queries and requests for support, guidance and strategic advice; approves RC travel, mission and leave requests.
•Strengthens collaboration and partnerships with the Regional Economic Commissions.
•Supports the Chair of the Regional UNSDG on/in:
-United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) and joint programme preparations and quality assurance, including leadership of the regional Programme Support Group (PSG).
-Ensuring UNSDCFs and joint programmes are supported by and linked to the work of relevant inter-governmental bodies and networks in the region
-Supporting the Regional UNSDG and RCs in developing and monitoring cross border, sub regional and regional strategies and programmes, promoting coherence across regional UN
-Development System (UNDS) programming and partnerships; , and contributing to the design and delivery of regional programming.
-Providing leadership for the development of innovative and change management programmes in the region.
-Managing dispute resolution and facilitating trouble shooting; arranges for Regional UNSDG support missions, as needed.
-Coordinating communications and strategic messaging for RC system at regional level.
-Supporting RCs, UNCTs and Resident Coordinator Offices (RCO) on Business Innovations
-Undertaking joint resource mobilization and investment and partnering efforts to support joint programmes and pooled funds at country and regional levels.
-Engaging in and facilitating links to global and regional joint funding mechanisms, in support of RC/UNCT efforts to link these to country level Agenda 2030 initiatives.
• Provides regular reporting on regional results and oversees backstopping support to RCs, UNCTs, and RCOs in the region on planning, monitoring and reporting results.
• Supports, tracks and reports on implementation of UN reform initiatives in the region, in line with policies and guidance from the High-Level Committees on Programmes and Management of the Chief Executives Board (CEB), the Secretary-General, and Deputy Secretary-General and Chair, UN Sustainable Development Group.
• Contributes to the formulation of UNDCO strategies and policies by participating in various committees, preparing documents on policy issues, and acting, as required, in an advisory capacity to the Director and Deputy Director of UNDCO; contributes to the overall management of the Office’s activities and operations.
• Co-ordinates, oversees and contributes to the preparation of regional reports for presentation to interagency and intergovernmental bodies such as the UNSDG Inter-Agency Advisory Panel, High-Level Committees on Programmes and Management of the Chief Executives Board (CEB), Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budget Questions, Committee for Programme Coordination, Economic and Social Council, the General Assembly and other policy-making organs, as appropriate.
• Oversees the recruitment of staff for the Regional Desk, taking into account geographical and gender balance and other UN principles; manages, guides and trains staff under his/her supervision; fosters teamwork and communication among staff in the Regional Desk and across organizational boundaries.
• Provides a facilitating role with host Governments, donors and counterparts; chairs meetings and seminars on substantive issues; represents the Organization at international, regional, inter-agency meetings, seminars and conferences, providing expertise, as needed.
• Performs other related duties as requested by the senior management of the Organization.
• Professionalism: Knowledge of the substantive field of work in general and of specific areas being supervised. Shows ability to produce reports and papers on technical issues and to review and edit the work of others. Shows ability to apply UN rules, regulations, policies and guidelines in work situations. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations.
• Accountability: Takes ownership of all responsibilities and honours commitments; delivers outputs for which one has responsibility within prescribed time, cost and quality standards; operates in compliance with organizational regulations and rules; supports subordinates, provides oversight and takes responsibility for delegated assignments; takes personal responsibility for his/her own shortcomings and those of the work unit, where applicable.
• Client Orientation: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.
• Leadership: Serves as a role model that other people want to follow: empowers others to translate vision into results; is proactive in developing strategies to accomplish objectives; establishes and maintains relationships with a broad range of people to understand needs and gain support; anticipates and resolves conflicts by pursuing mutually agreeable solutions; drives for change and improvements; does not accept the status quo; shows the courage to take unpopular stands. Provides leadership and takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work; demonstrates knowledge of strategies and commitment to the goal of gender balance in staffing.
• Judgement/Decision making: Identifies the key issues in a complex situation, and comes to the heart of the problem quickly; gathers relevant information before making a decision; considers positive and negative impacts of decisions prior to making them; takes decisions with an eye to the impact on others and on the Organization; proposes a course of action or makes a recommendation based on all available information; checks assumptions against facts; determines the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision; makes tough decisions when necessary.
Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in international relations or public administration, law, social sciences or related area. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
Over fifteen years of progressively responsible experience in coordination of development cooperation, of which a minimum of ten years serving in a leadership role in international positions (not in one’s own country).
Five years of experience in policy formulation in the area of development coordination is required.
Five years of senior management experience with inter-agency or inter-organizational collaboration in the development sector is required.
Five years of field experience in development cooperation is required.
Experience in managing managers in a multicultural environment in development cooperation is desirable.
Experience leading organizational reform or change management is desirable.
Experience in the United Nations system or a comparable international organization is desirable.
Experience overseeing programmatic and administrative tasks necessary to the functioning of a large work unit is desirable.
Experience managing large budget programs in a development cooperation context is desirable.
Experience working at the headquarters of a development cooperation agency is desirable.
English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable.
Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.
This position is available for an initial period of one year. Extension of appointment is subject to the availability of funds.
Staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and to assignment by him or her. In this context, all staff are expected to move periodically to new functions in their careers in accordance with established rules and procedures.
The United Nations Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position.
According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment.
Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.
Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira. For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the Manual for the Applicant, which can be accessed by clicking on “Manuals” hyper-link on the upper right side of the inspira account-holder homepage.
The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application.
Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.
THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.